RK Vardar

RK Vardar 1961 () is a professional handball club from Skopje, Republic of Macedonia. Vardar is the most successful handball team in the country, having won 15-fifteen national League titles and 17-seventeen League Cup titles. Vardar is also the most successful team in the regional SEHA League, having won five titles and two EHF Champions League titles.

History

RK Vardar was founded in 1961 as a part of the Vardar Sports Club in Skopje, which was founded in 1947.

The RK Grafichar Skopje club was established in 1948, and second only to Rabotnički. In 1961, Grafičar was renamed Vardar, and almost all members of RK Partizan Skopje joined the team. The emergence of the ambitious Vardar team presented a challenge to Rabotnički, which was no longer the strong first-league team from the past. Notable early members of Vardar who would become mainstrays included goalkeeper Jovanovski, as well as Atanasovski, Zdravkovski, Savevski and Bozinovski. Vardar joined the Yugoslav Handball Championship in 1976. They played there for 2 seasons. In the 1980s they spent most of the time in the second division.

The handball team rose to power again in the late 1990s, becoming one of two clubs, alongside RK Pelister, to dominate the Macedonian handball scene after the independence of the country.
Vardar has participated in the EHF Champions League eleven times and made it to the semifinals of the Cup Winner's Cup three times. The club achieved either championship or runner-up status in the Macedonian Super League every since 1999, with the sole exception of 2005, where they finished 4th. In 2018 they became the most winning team in the Macedonian handball championship by winning their twelfth title. They are also the record cup winner with thirteen titles. On April 15, 2012, Vardar defeated Metalurg at the Zagreb Arena to become the first SEHA League champion. The team has won five titles in the SEHA League. The club started the new 2013–14 season with a new management structure, with Sergey Samsonenko as the new proprietor and sports director of the club, and Mihajlo Mihajlovski as the honorary club chairman.

The 2016–17 season was the most successful for the team, as they won the EHF Champions League and the regional SEHA League, the two main domestic championships, the national Handball Super League, and the national Handball Cup. Two days after winning the EHF Champions League, the team celebrated the victory with approximately 150,000 people in a ceremony in Macedonia Square in Skopje. Because of the huge success the currentPresident of the Republic of Macedonia, Gjorgje Ivanov awarded the members of the handball club Vardar a Medal of Merit for the Republic of North Macedonia for the results they achieved, especially for winning the Champions League title. The club was awarded the national charter of the country.

In the 2018–19 season, the team won the EHF Champions League, the regional SEHA League and the main domestic championship, the Handball Super League of North Macedonia. One day after winning the EHF Champions League, the team arrived in the country with a private jet and celebrated the victory with approximately 250,000 people in a central ceremony at Macedonia Square in Skopje.

In 2023 they won the Macedonian cup. The final match was a between the heavyweights Vardar and Eurofarm, held at Ohrids SRC Biljanini Izvori. In this great festive atmosphere, both teams gave an outstanding performance. The first half went to the Red Army, leaving the score at 15 to 10. In the second half, Eurofarm fought hard for a comeback, and the game went into overtime. In the end, due in large part to a brilliant performance by long-time goalkeeper Borko Ristovski, Vardar won 26 to 25, adding a 16th Cup Trophy to their rich collection.

At the beginning of the 2023–24 season, the Red Black Army won the Super Cup 2023 against then-champions Eurofarm in Strumitsa Sports Center, a neutral ground chosen for the occasion. The first half finished in a 13–13 tie, but in the second half, Vardar made a resurgence and won the match 26 to 30. The Super Cup Trophy returned after 3 years to the home of the Red Black Jane Sandansky's trophy collection.

Kits

Accomplishments

Domestic competitions

Macedonian League
* Macedonian Republic League
: Winner:(3) 1959, 1960, 1975
* Macedonian Handball Super League
: Winner (15): 1998–99, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2006–07, 2008–09, 2012–13, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2020–21, 2021-22

* Macedonian Handball Cup
: Winner (17): 1997, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2025

* Macedonian Handball Super Cup
: Winner (4): 2017, 2018, 2019, 2023

European competitions

* EHF Champions League
: Winner (2): 2016–17, 2018–19
* EHF Cup Winners' Cup
: ''Third placed'': 1998–99, 2004–05, 2010–11

Other competitions

* SEHA League
: Winner (5): 2011–12, 2013–14, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19
: ''Runner-up'': 2012–13, 2015–16, 2019–20
* IHF Super Globe
: ''Third placed'': 2017, 2019

Individual club awards

* Double
: Winners (9): 2000–01, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2006–07, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2020–21
* Triple Crown
: Winners (1): 2016–17

Arena

RK Vardar is the owner of the Jane Sandanski Arena where they play all their home matches in the EHF Champions League, the regional SEHA League and in domestic competitions. It's a modern complex with a sports hall of 5,850 seats. It has its own hotel, spa center, hospital and swimming pool.
The arena is named after the Macedonian revolutionary Jane Sandanski.

Team

Current squad

:''Squad for the 2024–2025 season''

;Goalkeepers
*1 Marko Bogdanovski
* 12 Miguel Espinha Ferreira
* 99 Vasil Gogov
;Left Wingers
*2 Mario Stojanovski
* 10 Hanser Rodríguez
* 27 Marko Srdanović
;Right Wingers
*9 Goce Georgievski ( c)
* 70 Miguel Pinto
* 77 Alen Kjosevski
;Line players
*7 Mihail Alarov
* 15 Lars Kooij
* 18 Milan Lazarevski

;Left Backs
* 8 Tomče Stojanovski
* 24 Dmytro Horiha
* 33 Stefan Petrić
* 87 Vuko Borozan
* 96 Nilton Melo
;Central Backs
* 11 Mladen Krsmančić
* 14 Mario Tankoski
* 29 Matija Nikolić
;Right Backs
*4 Tomislav Jagurinovski
* 17 Kristijan Stamenkovikj
* 66 Achraf Margheli

Transfers

:''Transfers for the 2025–26 season''

; Joining
* Miłosz Wałach (GK) ''(from Industria Kielce)''
* Mahamadou Keïta (LW) ''(from Ángel Ximénez Puente Genil)''
* Filip Taleski (LB) ''(from S.L. Benfica)''
* Jaka Malus (CB) ''(from RD Slovan)''
* Nicolás Bono (CB) ''(from Istres Provence Handball)'' ?
* Vukašin Antonijević (CB) ''(from RK Celje)'' ?
* Yonatan Dayan (CB) ''(from ASV Hamm-Westfalen)'' ?
* Marek Marciniak (RB) ''(from KS Azoty-Puławy)''
* Uroš Mitrović (RB) ''(from Fenix Toulouse Handball)''
* Wiktor Jankowski (P) ''(from MMTS Kwidzyn)''
* Kristijan Anastasovski (P) ''(from GRK Tikveš)''

; Leaving
* Marko Srdanović (LW) ''(to RK Vojvodina)'' ?
* Hanser Rodríguez (LW) ''(to Caen Handball)''
* Stefan Petrić (LB) ''(to GRK Ohrid)''
* Tomislav Jagurinovski (RB) ''(to Dessau-Roßlauer HV)''
* Lars Kooij (P) ''(to Bergischer HC)''
* Mihail Alarov (P) ''(to RK Alkaloid)''

Staff

Professional staff

Management

Former club members

Notable former players

* Stojanče Stoilov
* Pepi Manaskov
* Stevče Aluševski
* Petar Misovski
* Branislav Angelovski
* Kiril Kolev
* Vančo Dimovski
* Lazo Majnov
* Naumče Mojsovski
* Zlatko Mojsovski
* Goran Kuzmanoski
* Dejan Pecakovski
* Radoslav Stojanović
* Aco Jonovski
* Marjan Kolev
* Mitko Stoilov
* Vlado Nedanovski
* Martin Popovski
* Marko Kizikj
* Dimitar Dimitrioski
* Zlatko Daskalovski
* Nemanja Pribak
* Filip Lazarov
* Velko Markoski
* Milorad Kukoski
* Gradimir Čanevski
* Petar Angelov
* Goce Ojleski
* Nikola Markoski
* Milan Levov
* Nikola Mitrevski
* Daniel Gjorgjeski
* Nikola Stojčevski
* Dejan Manaskov
* Borko Ristovski
* Filip Taleski
* Martin Tomovski
* Alexey Rastvortsev
* Mikhail Chipurin
* Alexander Dereven
* Dmitrii Kiselev
* Pavel Atman
* Daniil Shishkarev
* Sergei Gorbok
* Gleb Kalarash
* Timur Dibirov
* Strahinja Milić
* Ilija Abutović
* Mijajlo Marsenić
* Dejan Milosavljev
* Marko Vujin
* Vladimir Petrić
* Alem Toskić
* Iñaki Malumbres Aldave
* Alex Dujshebaev
* Arpad Šterbik
* Joan Cañellas
* Jorge Maqueda
* Blaženko Lacković
* Luka Cindrić
* Igor Karačić
* Ivan Čupić
* Lovro Jotić
* Ante Gadža
* Mladen Rakčević
* Stevan Vujović
* Vuk Lazović
* Vasko Ševaljević
* Andrej Dobrković
* Miladin Kozlina
* Matjaž Brumen
* Gregor Ocvirk
* Staš Skube
* Domen Sikošek Pelko
* Ante Kuduz
* Revaz Chanturia
* Jan Sobol
* Rogerio Moraes Ferreira
* José Toledo
* Leonardo Dutra
* Dainis Krištopāns
* Artūrs Kuģis
* Khalifa Ghedbane
* Ali Safar
* Robin Cantegrel
* Bakary Diallo
* Jérémy Toto
* Christian Dissinger
* Patryk Walczak
* Jan Czuwara
* Yoel Cuni Morales
* Olivier Nyokas
* Kévynn Nyokas
* Tawfik Baccar
* Kosuke Yasuhira

Notable former coaches

* Ljubomir Savevski
* Andon Boškovski
* Zoran Kastratović
* Biljana Crvenkoska
* Stevče Aluševski
* Vlado Nedanovski
* Raúl González Gutiérrez
* David Davis
* Roberto García Parrondo
* David Pisonero
* Dragan Đukić
* Dejan Perić
* Josif Petković
* Veselin Vujović
* Goran Simić
* Aleksandar Roganović

Notable former presidents

* Sergey Samsonenko

Kit manufacturers

* Kempa

European competitions record

EHF Champions League

EHF Cup

EHF Cup Winners' Cup

Statistics

All–time Top 10 Scorers in the EHF Champions League

:''As of 2021–22 season''

Most appearances in the EHF Champions League

:''As of 2021–22 season''

Individual awards in the EHF Champions League

References

External links

*
RFM Profile

EHF Profile



*http://www.seha-liga.com/klub/11/vardar-skopje

{{EHF Champions League winners

RK Vardar,
Vardar
Sport in Skopje
Handball clubs established in 1961
1961 establishments in the Socialist Republic of Macedonia